Dissident Voice

September
4, 2003

For
the second year in a row, thousands of threatened spring-run chinook salmon
have perished in an outbreak of disease spurred by warm water conditions on
Butte Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River that arises in the Sierra
Nevada west of Chico.

Allen
Harthorn of Friends of Butte Creek and other fishery restoration activists are
accusing the Department of Fish and Game and Pacific Gas and Electric Company
of failing to do anything to save the fish, even though 5,000 to 7,000 fish
died under similar conditions last year. The spring chinook salmon is a listed
species under the state and federal Endangered Species Acts.

The
recent fish kill took place between mid-July and the end of August when an
estimated 15,000 salmon encountered lethally warm water conditions on Butte
Creek. The latest fish kill was preceded by a smaller one around May 11, when
PG&E’s Centerville Flume failed and dumped massive amounts of sediment into
the creek, resulting in the premature deaths of hundreds of salmon.

“The
federal and state governments and local water districts spent around
$25,000,000 over 10 years to remove dams and other barriers so that the fish
could get upriver to spawn,” said Harthorn. “That’s approximately $300 per
salmon. If you figure that last year we lost 7,000 fish and this year we lost
another 8,000 salmon, that’s $4-1/2 million wasted in two fish kills.”

He
added, “If I was a farmer in the Butte Basin, I’d be very upset that all this
money was spent so the fish can get upriver to die prematurely.”

The
fish started dying in July when water diverted by PG&E from Round Valley
Reservoir hit 68 degrees, increasing to approximately 70 degrees by the time
that it came out of DeSabla Powerhouse and around 75 degrees by the time it
reached the big pool in front of Harthorn's property in Butte Creek Canyon.

The
fish kill accelerated beginning August 11 as warm water temperatures spurred
the outbreak of columnaris (bacterial gill disease) and ich protozoa in the
salmon. By the end of August, thousands of salmon littered the bottom of Butte
Creek.

“Many
pools now are virtual graveyards with flesh and bones scattered every where,”
said Harthorn. “What was a spectacular run has been decimated. All of the
parties with authority - the DFG, PG&E and National Marine Fisheries
Service - have sat on their hands and sacrificed these fish.”

The
problem is that in the section of the creek where the most fish died, from
Centerville Dam to DeSabla Powerhouse, the water is diverted for power
generation. PG&E uses approximately 30 cfs of upper Butte Creek water and
50 cfs of Feather River water for electricity, bypassing the majority of fish.

As
a solution to the fish kills, Harthorn suggest putting all of the natural flows
- 75 cfs or more - in this stretch during July, August and September and
utilizing the water from the West Branch of the Feather River for power
generation.

Paul
Ward, DFG fishery biologist, confirmed that “a good component” of the Butte
Creek run died before spawning. The preliminary estimate of the 2003
pre-spawning snorkel survey of fish still alive in the river from Quartz Bowl
to the Parrot-Phelan Diversion Dam is 4398 salmon.

“To
date, we estimate that over 5,000 salmon (5472) have died before spawning, but
our final count won’t be available until mid October when we do our spawning
carcass survey,” he stated.

Couldn’t
something have been done to stop the premature deaths of these fish, since they
are listed as a threatened species?

“It
does not appear so,” said Ward. “Maybe we can work with PG&E to better
manage the water from the West Branch so cooler water can be sent down the
river.”

He
characterized the problem with Butte Creek as too many fish being crowded into
too little habitat. “Even after the fish kill, there are probably more fish
than there is available spawning gravel,” he stated. “The reach above
Centerville has only 15 percent of the available habitat, although it has good
holding water. Over 85 percent of the habitat is below Centerville."

Lisa
Randle, spokesperson for Pacific Gas & Electric, said the utility was
operating their hydroelectric facilities with the cooperation of DFG and other
fishery agencies when the fish kill took place.

“We
continue to operate as directed by our FERC license and maintain communication
with and work with the California Resources Agency regarding fish flow
releases,” she stated. “We are open to considering any changes that are
beneficial to the well being of the salmon.”

However,
Harthorn said the DFG and PG&E are “just making excuses for doing nothing.”

“There
would be no problem with fish spawning on top of one another if the low flow
section of Butte Creek had 75 cfs or more,” he explained. “By increasing flows,
they would increase the habitat. Right now the fish are very crowded because
there is not much water for them. If that’s all of the water that the DFG can
get from PG&E, we have to figure out something we can do to stop these
kills from occurring.”

Harthorn
also estimated the DFG's preliminary estimate of 5472 dead fish to be very
conservative, considering that only half of the carcasses are ever counted.
"We're saying that 8,000 fish, maybe more, died before spawning," he
added.

Harthorn
is also proposing that once 10,000 fish are estimated to have entered the
creek, that Butte Creek be reopened to fishing for recreational anglers for one
month.

Craig
Bell, representing the Salmonid Restoration Federation and Northern California
Association of River Guides, addressed the issue of the fish kill during the
public comment section of the California Fish and Game Commission meeting in
Santa Rosa on August 28.

“This
is the second time that I’ve had to bring a fish kill on Butte Creek to the
Commission’s attention,” said Bell. “PG&E is taking a state and federally
listed species without an incidental take permit. It’s time for the DFG to take
a more aggressive stance in protecting spring-run chinooks."

Daniel Bacher is an outdoor
writer/alternative journalist/satirical songwriter from Sacramento California.
He is also a long-time peace, social justice and environmental activist. Email:
danielbacher@hotmail.com